Professor Engel presents a study of the social and cultural origins of female radicalism in nineteenth-century Russia. She examines the forces that prompted hundreds of women to rebel against their family roles, the factors that shaped their radical activity and thought, and the ways in which the circumstances of their rebellion influenced their attitudes toward private as well as public life. During this period, Russian women were more numerous and more prominent in social and political movements than were women elsewhere in Europe. By analysing the biographies of hundreds of these women, Professor Engel attempts to explain the sources of their prominence as well as the legacy they left for future generations.